Doctor of Divinity (D.D., Divinitatis Doctor in Latin) is an advanced academic degree in divinity. Historically, it identified one who had been licensed by a university to teach Christian theology or related religious subjects.
In the United Kingdom, D.D. has traditionally been the highest doctorate granted by universities, usually conferred upon a religious scholar of standing and distinction. In descending order of seniority, the D.D. degree is followed by LL.D. (or D.C.L.) for law, M.D. (or D.M.) for medicine, Litt.D. (or D.Litt.) for letters, D.Sc. (or Sc.D.) for science, and D.Mus. or (Mus.D.) for music. The high status of the D.D. qualification in British universities owed to their traditional affiliation with the Christian church. As universities became increasingly secular in the 20th century, the D.D. degree lost much of its preeminence in practice, though officially it is still the most senior qualification at the English universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Durham, as well as at the Scottish universities of St Andrews, Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Edinburgh.
In the United States the D.D. is usually awarded as an honorary degree. There is no system of "higher degrees" in the U.S., so the highest earned degrees in academic Theology are the Ph.D., Th.D. or S.T.D.. Professional degrees in applied Theology include the D.B.S., D.Th.P. and the highest degree--the D.Min..
